I know This Man shouldn't have squeezed in the time to drive up to La Jolla to see my favorite Swiss chemist this morning, but when I got the email, I knew immediately that I could find the time to make it happen. I know I shouldn't have called into work, claiming that I was running a bit late even while I sat in commuter traffic. I know I shouldn't have allowed my other member to do all of the thinking when This Man clearly should've thought it all through. I also knew that both This Man and the Swiss chemist both had to go to work so it would definitely have to be a quickie. I knew that once I got to his apartment that there would be no cuddling afterwards and the small talk would be very brief. In other words, This Man fully understands the concept of a quickie--not to be confused with a booty call.
But I suppose the reason that This Man is frustrated is because the one time that the chemist is giving one of his best performances. The one time that the action between the two of us is so intense that This Man found himself clearly locked in the moment. And the one time that I actually didn't want to just 'hit it and leave', it would be during a commuter-morning-quick-fuck. However the worst part of it all wasn't that we would have to be brief. It wasn't that he and I didn't sit around sharing a smoke before jumping on the bed. It also wasn't that we didn't get to drink any of the wine that he usually has stashed in his apartment. The worst part of it all was, just as we'd finished and This Man was trying to catch my breath, the Swiss chemist looks on the monitor of his Powerbook and informs me, right then that, "We fucked for exactly 20 minutes!"
Now, tell me What the fuck was that all about?

Mahalo

Okay, since so much happened during my weekend getaway to the Lone Star State, This Man decided that since I wasn't able to blog while I was there, I would sum it all up with pictures and words.

• Friday July 22, 5:15p.m., This Man and my handsome son, D departed San Diego's Limbergh Field for Dallas/Fort Worth. The sole purpose of the trip was to take my son to his grandmother's house for the summer and to visit family and friends.
  
• We arrived at Dallas/Fort Worth International at 10:30p.m. CST and the first moment that us passengers were given permission to turn on our mobile phones, my good friend, DSS was calling me to meet him at JR's for drinks as soon as This Man got settled in.
  
• Finally got to Fort Worth close to 11:30. Got D all settled in. Got caught up on small talk with R and made a brief trip to the 24 hour WalMart Supercenter.
  
• Didn't get to JR's until a few minutes before Last Call, but This Man is a sailor. I ordered a couple of drinks and downed them all at the table before they turned the lights on, signaling that the bar was closing.
  
• After chugging down the Budweisers & Bombay Sapphire, This Man, my friend DSS and a couple of friends of his were on the sidewalk of Oak Lawn. At the persistence of DSS's friends, rather than go dancing at Station 4, we would continue drinking at their Lakewood home and perhaps have a hot tub. So there I was, driving clear across Dallas with DSS hanging out the passenger side window on the brink of throwing up in the rental car.
• Finally arrive at J & M's house, DSS has past out and it's just those two and This Man having some Chardonnay and talking. Even though, I didn't know these guys, I was cordial because I couldn't leave, DSS at their place when all I wanted to do was leave, head back to Oak Lawn and cruise guys. Finally at 4 a.m, I get DSS back to his place and head back to Fort Worth.
  
• Saturday was spent with This Man, my son D and his grandmother back at WalMart looking at digital cameras. After that, went to see my sister, my brother and law and my nephew. After all this time, I was actually excited to see them. My sister looked fabulous! Her apartment was nice and my nephew was clearly showing signs of being the young man that I knew he would grow into. Hung out with them until later in the afternoon and then headed back to Fort Worth.
  
• Took what had to have been the longest nap of my life. By the time I woke up, it was getting dark outside. Still groggy, This Man feasted on some fried catfish before falling asleep for the night.
  
• Woke up early Sunday morning with a vengenance! Set about installing R's new printer and making sure her computer was in top condition! My sister called around 8 to coordinate what time we would be driving down to Greenville, TX (my birthplace). We left the Metroplex at 9 and got to Greenville shortly after 10 a.m. This Man briefly saw my grandmother and aunt before setting about to find my sister, M and my brother, V. After driving through Greenville (population 23,250) and having no luck in finding where my sister or brother lived and everyone's phones were cut off (ghetto, I know--but that's the fam for ya) my sister & This Man agreed that we would feed take my son and my great niece & nephew to the park and try again later. Almost 2 hours later, still no luck and we decided to head back to Dallas/Fort Worth.
  
• Just before we hit the interstate, we did head out to the cemetery where This Man's mother and aunt were buried. I was happy to be out there and did get some pics of the headstones (of course, I won't be posting those pics on this blog).
  
• Made it back to Fort Worth around 1. Stayed at my sister's house and fixed her computer, making sure that it was in top condition. Called my friend DSS and agreed to go swimming with him and his partner SS. Showed up at their place, swam for a while before heading out, driving around Dallas and later settling in for drinks and appetizers at Snookies.
  
• Dropped SS back at home and DSS and This Man went to the Throckmorton Mining Company. It was great to see how they'd renovated the place. The men were still hot and cruising was awesome! Spun around to S4 (formerly The Village Station) and danced there for a while before I finally took DSS home and This Man went back to Fort Worth.
  
• Monday morning, woke up and set about getting ready to return to San Diego. Returned the rental car and headed back to the airport a couple of hours early before hopping on the plane and heading back to San Diego. I was so exhausted from the weekend, that This Man slept the whole 2 hours of the flight.
  
• Finally back in SD. I arrived at Linbergh Field just after 7:30 p.m. It was so good to be back home. I mean, This Man loves his family but it's clear that Dallas/Fort Worth has grown and progressed without me and San Diego was clearly my home
  

"There's a fly on the doughnuts!" This Man shreiked this morning when I was at the doughnut shop in my neighborhood. That was the way I remember how this morning kicked off and I couldn't help but keep it in my mind to blog about it later. I guess there was no real significance to me remembering it because This Man didn't get any of the doughnuts from that display case, even though the man behind the counter tried with little success to shoo the fly away. Nonetheless, the even was hilarious when I look back on it.
I left work super early today so L and I went to breakfast at my favorite eatery, Brians. She went in to work late because she had a staff meeting that evening so we sat around eating egg scrambles, fresh fruit, coffee and just chatting as we usually do.
Nothing else of real interest occured but I did want to jot something down. Still looking forward to my upcoming weekend in Texas.

Mahalo

Today was the last day of Comic-Con 2005. What does that mean for This Man? All those freaked-out, anime' obsessed, comic book loving, dressed in character wierdos can finally go back to being somewhat normal here in America's Finest City. Actually I shouldn't say all of that because This Man went to Comic-Con today and I was impressed! Not to mention, I've already declared that I would more than likely be back next year.

Comic-Con comes to the San Diego Convention Center every year and thousands and thousands of comic book fans, artists and celebrities come to town for the event. It's usually best to pre-register because the lines to get in are outrageous, but once inside it's like a big child's wonderland of comics, cartoons, digital animation an all things past, present and future in the world of comics.

Take it from This Man, my knowledge of comics never expanded beyond the occasional comic book when I was a young 'un. So I was definitely surprised and impressed by it all. Of course the trio, This Man, my son D and bestest friend in the whole wide world, L we went on the last day thinking that the crowds would be thinner and the cost of admission was a bit cheaper.
So while we didn't get to get any autographs from any of the celebrities who pass through there, we were able to preview an up and coming episode of Spongebob Squarepants, saw some of the greatest displays in the DC comics area, and scored some pretty cool freebies (they give out damn near anything and everything there). But of course, This Man found some wierd opportunities to get pictures and those people who did come in costume were nice enough to let the children, adults and even This Man pose for photos which I thought was really great.
Next year, with better planning I'll be back. Enjoy the pictures.

Mahalo

So last night after This Man got back from the barbershop, I managed to clean myself up and head out to Bourbon Street for a couple of drinks and to break in the new Juicy tee. Looking slouchy but well groomed, This Man arrived at Bourbon just in time to the big crowd to leave which was good for me, considering that place is a mad house on Friday nights. I'd already had a Jim Beam & Cola during the drive to the bar (hey, This Man is no model citizen), but that little cocktail did nothing to get me buzzing and immediately once I perched myself at the bar was informed that they'd ran out of Budweisers (how the fuck is that even possible).
So it was the next best thing. Bombay Sapphire & a shot of Red Bull. No sooner than I get the drink and head off to find a decent spot to S&M, who did I run into?
J.

With his friends, K & H.
Fuck!
I knew it would be wrong to pretend as if I didn't see them. This Man also knew that I would have to be cordial. I was getting closer. This wasn't going to be good.
It was going to be fucking great!
"Well, hello, stranger."
"Hey J. How you been, man?"
"Good. Yourself?"
"Well, you know. I can't complain. Where's the new guy?"
"Ohhhh, he doesn't like gay bars." I suppose This Man shouldn't be surprised really.
So there we were just standing there and trying to make small talk. I couldn't think of anything to say really so I just kinda looked off in the distance. There was a time when I actually looked forward to this little run in, but I think as time passed, This Man had came to realize that it wasn't going to happen and it didn't need to happen. I was over this guy, right?
"Do you have a cigarette?" He asked. "None of my friends smoke." He'd started smoking again?
"Of course."
"Cool, let's go outside." So there we were, just standing there. We really didn't have anything else to say, so it seemed like we pretty much repeated the same dialogue that we'd just had inside. It was uncomfortable and awkward.
"So what happened?" he exhaled. We were both smoking.
"J, I really don't want to go through all of that mess again. It's good seeing you though."
"You know, I'm really not a bad person!" he declared.
"I know you're not. I still think you're great."
"Well, I'm sorry about everything that happened."
"Man, believe me, there's nothing to apologize about, right? It's all in the past."
"I just felt like I needed to say it."
And we stood there. And finally, it was confirmed for This Man.
There was nothing else to be said. We were done. It was over not just for me, but for him also.
And at that moment, we both knew that there was nothing else that needed to be said or done.
I guess This Man did need this. While I could sit all day and tell myself I was over J, I needed this moment to let myself know and for him to know also. Whereas, we used to be able to talk about a whole bunch of nothing, this moment was done; we'd exhausted all topics to talk about. He knew it and I knew it. We no longer needed to be in each other's company and I like to think that we both needed to see the other just to make sure that we were okay.
I finished my drink and stood there until finally, I knew it was time. I gave K a pat on the shoulder, pecked H on the cheek and just looked J in his eyes and said, "Okay, I'm gonna take off now. You take it easy."
I smiled while I strolled back to my car. I knew that he wouldn't call. I wouldn't receive any more emails from him and I knew that the trip the Palm Springs that we'd talked about forever wasn't going to happen. And I was fine with that.
So sure, I'll continue to go to Bourbon Street on Friday nights and I'll continue to speak to K and H, even though they are his friends. And if and when This Man sees J, of course I'll speak, and I'll hug him and I'll chit chat with him.
But you'd better believe, I'm going to keep it moving afterwards.

Mahalo.

(the first picture from the Juicy Couture website)

So once again, This Man and my son, D found ourselves downtown waiting to get our hair cut. There's really nothing significant about that, however it was the conversations that he and I had on the way to the barbershop that let This Man know that sometimes he and I are on two different planes.
As we were riding in the car, D was in the passenger seat totally engrossed in his Gameboy, oblivious to the stream of obsenities that This Man was screaming while we were in traffic. Suddenly without warning, D begins, " Dad, look. I named this character, The Thing just like in the movie." He was indicating for me to look at the screen. Apparently, while playing Pokemon, you're supposed to name the characters or some shit like that. I still don't know.
"Huh? What movie?"
"Don't you remember? The Fantastic 4. " We'd seen that movie opening night and he hadn't stopped talking about it since. And while This Man thought that movie sucked; D was a complete and total fan and would go and see the movie again, if someone offered to take him.
"Oh yeah. Um, what game are you playing?" I asked.
"Pokemon." He said as if I knew all along.
But I didn't. The thing about This Man is I've never been a big fan of video games. To me, they're a waste of time and while I'd rather read a book rather than sit in front of a digital game. Whereas my son prefers video games instead of reading, cartoons instead of creative art or noise over silence, I'd finally realized that while we are the exact same in physical appearance, he and I are two totally different men. We even sometimes speak different languages and that's how things get lost in translation.
So I had no clue what he was talking about as far as Pokemon went but I wanted to test him and see if he was as concerned about This Man's issues as I was. So when D went back to playing his game, I started with, " I got a new Juicy Couture shirt from Neiman Marcus today. It was on sale and then on top of that, they took an additional 25% off--so I got it for practically nothing."
I beamed. At that moment, D looked up at me with a cloud of confusion on his face and said, loud and clear, "Huh?"

Mahalo

(it's obvious--even in the top photo that I took. Whereas I'm drafting a rough copy of this post, my son engaged himself in his Gameboy while we both waited to get our hair cuts)

In a brief moment, this photo was snapped by my best friend in the world, L. This Man was originally trying to pose for some new pic for, not only This Man's Life but my numerous online profiles as well. However, after cracking a lame joke at This Man's expense (and looking back now the laughter captured was genuine), L took this shot as I was attempting to get up out of the grass. And sure it sounds a bit shallow, narcassistic even, but I actually like the picture.
Mahalo

Of course, This Man did go and see the fireworks on the waterfront in downtown San Diego. And the whole purpose of this entry is just to display some of the shots that I'm proud came out. It's always funny that to see fireworks show that usually lasts about half an hour, it takes a hour to get parked, another half hour to get a spot and get situated and another hour to get out of downtown. But judging from the pics, it made it all worth is for this Man. And yeah, they are a bit blurry, but considering I didn't have a tripod and had to be perfectly still during the slow shutter mode, I think they turned out great.

Earlier in the evening, I did call my sister just to let her know that I would definitely be in town later in the month. Even though it's for only a weekend, This Man is actually looking forward to seeing her. And I know I've said countless times that I would never, ever set foot in the Lone Star State again, but I do feel it's time to make the voyage--hopefully, This Man will return to California unharmed.

And that's about it. Had some small problems getting my pics uploaded tonight so after that headache, This Man is certainly in no mood to bore anyone with my verbose ramblings. So until then...
Mahalo